Nuggets

Gold Nuggets, simply called Nuggets in cave/mission results menus, are treasures found in Pikmin 3 and Pikmin 4, which come in piles. In Pikmin 3, they are only found in Mission Mode and Side Stories, never in the main game. There is a number displayed above the pile, signifying how many are left, similarly to how bridge fragments are in Pikmin 3. Each individual nugget is worth 3 Pokos in Pikmin 3 and 5 Sparklium in Pikmin 4 (or 1 Dandori Point in Dandori Stages), and each one can be carried by a single Pikmin. As long as Pikmin are left alone while collecting nuggets, they will continue to return to the pile until all the nuggets have been collected, where they will wait at the area the nuggets used to be in Pikmin 3 or wait under the S.S. Beagle in Pikmin 4. If Pikmin are called back while in the process of carrying a nugget, the Pikmin will go back to following the leader and the nugget will disappear back to the pile. They bear distinct resemblance in name and appearance to real-world gold nuggets, but are less oblong-shaped in the game. On Pikmin 4's Radar Map, Gold Nuggets are displayed differently from other treasures, as, instead of being represented by a star, they're represented by a small pile of three nuggets, similar to the icon for Raw Materials, which have similar carrying mechanics.